THE POTATO QUARANTINE. 19 



The quarantine law is, however, not the best means of controlling 

 diseases already existent within our borders, for it does not provide 

 authority for quarantining a single farm or a limited district in one 

 of the States except as to interstate shipments. It is, therefore, of 

 the highest importance that each State enact legislation authorizing 

 the proper State officials to search for suspected cases of new or 

 dangerous diseases and empowering them in the event of their dis- 

 covery within the State to destroy infected stock or material, to put 

 under quarantine the areas involved, and to take other measures 

 needed to prevent the spread of the trouble. In some States such 

 laws exist for nursery stock, but they do not always cover potatoes. 

 It is particularly in States doing a large business in seed potatoes that 

 such legislation is needed. 



The fact that many diseases, like the black-leg, dry-rot, scab, and 

 eelworm, are scattered far and wide on infected seed also makes 

 necessary some community or State action to control these troubles 

 at the source by stimulating the growing of seed potatoes as a special 

 business and by establishing a system of inspection and certification 

 that will provide a means by which distant purchasers can be guar- 

 anteed the freedom from disease of potato seed stock purchased, as 

 well as its varietal purity and vigor. 



At present, the consumer shares the loss from potato diseases, 

 whether in the field, in storage, or en route to market. Much of the 

 loss can be prevented by better spraying or better methods of grading, 

 handling, and shipping, which have not yet been worked out and 

 adopted on account of a lack of concerted action and community of 

 interest on the part of buyers, shippers, jobbers, and retailers. 

 These men can assist the grower in lowering the present excessive 

 retail prices of potatoes. 



LACK OF AN OUTLET FOR SURPLUS POTATOES. 



Under present conditions the production of potatoes is limited by 

 the requirements of the market for table stock. A few culls are 

 made into starch and a few fed to stock, but there is no extensive 

 use of potatoes for industrial purposes such as one finds in Europe. 1 



Furthermore, the production in the United States is greatly 

 influenced by weather conditions, especially by the occasional periods 

 of heat or drought to which we are more subject than Europe and to 

 which the potato is more sensitive than some other crops. 



The result is that when we acid to these two factors the natural 

 tendency of farmers to reduce their acreage after a year of low prices 

 and to increase it after a year of high prices, wa have the excessive 

 fluctuation in supply and market prices already described. 



!Cf. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 47. 



